SEAT Arona

Design tweaks and extra kit give Spanish car a boost in the increasingly crowded small crossover class

- Alastair Crooks [e-mail]

SEAT has breathed new life into its range recently, announcing midlife updates for both the Ibiza supermini (Issue 1,906) and Arona small SUV. But we've been made to wait, because the revised cars were first teased two years ago.

The Arona arrived in 2017, designed to tackle the all-important crossover class and going up against cars such as the Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Mokka. The segment has exploded in recent years, welcoming the big-selling Ford Puma, plus other models from the Volkswagen Group, including the VW T-Cross and the Skoda Kamiq. The Arona was first facelifted in 2021, but this latest round of changes aims to focus on the model's design, while also throwing in some extra kit as standard.

With SEAT repositioning itself as the VW Group's 'entry brand', price will be the most important factor in determining how popular the new Arona (as well as the Ibiza) is in time. Although the list price hasn't been officially announced, we've been told that the SUV will start from roughly £23,000, with flagship models maxing out at around £28,500, meaning like-for-like savings of up to £1,500 over the current car. The updated Arona will ditch today's entry-level S and range-topping XCellence trims; SE now sits below SE Technology, with First Edition and FR Sport cars completing the lineup.